Instincts
by LittleRen
Summary: When a long thought dead relative appears in Sunnydale, who may not be what she appears to be, how can one of the gang deal with her tragic past and uncertain future? (Season four AU ^.^)
1. Author's Note

Disclaimer: Buffy and gang don't belong to me. *sniff* They were all borrowed without permission. Darien, (and any other OFC that may show up) however is mine, and I'm very protective of her. -.-

Notes: This is and alternate universe set somewhere in the fourth season (Not sure when exactly yet though). Faith is still around. All the events regarding her up to Bad Girls and partway through Consequences happened. I haven't decided if I'll be explaining what happened to her in the fic, so the basic lowdown is she turned around and got help and whatnots. The stuff with the Mayor hasn't happened. (Though that may be a fun plot point for another fic. ^.^) 

Oz is also still around, and he and Willow are still together. (I'm such a O/W shipper.) 

Giles bought the Magic Box already (just cause it makes such a good setting to write in ^.^)

The Initiative is still there. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with them yet, but that should be revealed in good time. 

I think that's it, if I think of anything else I'll let you know. I know there's not much yet, and so far it's lacking in the action department, but it's getting there. 

Domo, hope you enjoy your read! 


	2. Prologue

Prologue 

She sat watching out the window of the nearly empty bus, tracing the routes of the raindrops running in countless trails down the outer glass pane, while occasionally glancing at her watch. The driver had said it would only be another forty-five minutes. An hour and a half ago. It was because of the storm he'd said. Oh, he'd see a storm if he didn't pick up the pace. It was hardly considered more than a shower were she was from, not warranting the snails pace the little weasel of a man decided was appropriate. _It's all the damned hicks. _They tended to drive so conservatively. But then again she was used to the big city way of thinking,which held the 'through storm, snow, and traffic, we'll get to the hell where we're going, so get outta my way!' attitude. That was the way it should be. 

Okay, well maybe not so much. She scolded herself for being to negative, it's not like she was on any sort of time schedule, and she knew it was only her nerves, impatience, and crankiness from the long ride that was speaking. Really, the rural scenery surrounding her small town destination wasn't a bad view, though she wished the rain would stop so maybe she could see some of the wildlife. Either way, it didn't really matter though, they were nearly there according to the sign that flashed -well maybe not flashed exactly, but it passed by nonetheless. 

She took in a deep calming breathe as the first wave of panic hit her with the affirmation from the bus driver that they were indeed approaching their destination. She forced herself to take another long, controlled breath, while unnerving thoughts ran through her head like a freight train. What if she wasn't accepted? She had gone over the scenario of her arrival countless times, and always pictured big warm hugs, kisses, maybe a few tears and some presents, though knowing the latter was impossible right away; they didn't know she was coming. But she was having sudden feelings of doubt. Of course, those had been present the minute she decided to go, but she had never really dwelled long on those, pushing them out with happier thoughts that somehow always ended with her kissing some gorgeous movie star hunk. She allowed herself a grin, thinking of her latest rendezvous with Sean Biggerstaff. Prime choice definitely. 

She shook her head slightly, regretfully clearing her head of the pleasant thoughts, and forced herself to think of the present situation, and all the poignant memories that always accompanied it. She really hated thinking about it, but with the impending position she was putting herself in, there was no way around it. She couldn't stay where she was, that option was completely out with no place to stay, and no one to stay with. And living alone in New York City definitely did not appeal to her in any way, shape or form, not mention how dangerous it out could be for a young lady such as herself. It was possible that she could move to a smaller town somewhere else, finish her last year of high school, find a place to live and a job to support her. Though how she would get a job before having a place to live would work, and renting anything was out of the question. Her previous caretaker hadn't left her with much money, not that old bloke had a lot to his name anyway. _Jeez, I still talk like him. I guess living with someone for that long will do that to ya. _Then, of course, if she managed to get a place, school and job, she'd spend the rest of her life saving up to pay her way through college. With her basic needs that would be next to impossible, and it was certain she'd only have minimum wage pay and… man alive, it was daunting to think about. So she settled for her third option: going back home. That thought left her with a little shudder of excitement, anticipation, and dread. She loved her family to bits… well okay, maybe it was lacking in the parental department, but it wasn't all that bad. But the last time she had seen them… 

Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she yet again compelled herself to take deep, relaxed breaths, and she felt the exhaustion sweep over her. Maybe just a few minutes of shut-eye would help. God knows when they would actually get there anyway. 

__

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, as they tend to do on a beautiful, if cliché, sort of afternoon. But there were shadows. From the trees, from the buildings, from the people walking through the park. They danced and shifted with every movement of each person, with every sway of each tree branch. But they were there, giving refuge to those who would seek them, marring the green grass, competing the with brilliance of the blue sky, synchronizing with the sudden screaming. They laughed with glee at the bright splashes of blood, and sniggered at the desperate cries for help. Their outright joy at the mayhem was sickening as they grinned coldly, mockingly while they swayed, as shadows do, in time to the thudding of terrified hearts…

Before she was even fully awake, she knew it had been a bad idea to dose off, even for the precious few minutes she did. She wiped away the sweat forming on her brow and glanced around nervously, wondering if anyone had noticed her ungraceful re-entry into the waking world. She'd jerked awake, suppressing a scream, as per usual when it came to nightmares. The disturbing reminder of her past had engraved her fears even further into her mind, but she was resigned to carrying out her plans as she had, well, planned as she noticed the road sign out her window. _Here we go… Welcome, Dare, to Sunnydale, California._


	3. Intrusion

Chapter 1

The sun shone in brightly through the window and blinds, which the figure the light fell on had forgotten to close the night before. With an annoyed grunt she rolled over and pressed the pillow firmly down over her face, almost to the point of smothering. The attempt to block the blinding sunlight out would have actually worked, however there came a new intrusion to the girl's sleep in the form of angry pounding on the door. She could hear muffled curses making their way through the cheap wood and rough, flat pillow, and she figured the entire neighbourhood could hear the offensive yells. Throwing the pillow away, and jumping out of bed as quickly as a person can at- Darien glanced at the clock- 10:30am?! _Good Lord, what the hell is wrong with this town? It's the fecking weekend!_ Honestly, she knew weird thing happened in Sunnydale, but this was the fifth time she'd been woken by someone in the past hour. Although, this was the first time it had been intentional. This was one of those times she really wished everyone had the teenaged ability to sleep well into the afternoon like normal people. 

Darien straightened her makeshift pyjamas (a tank top and sweats) and clumsily slid the chain of the door and reached to undo the bolt, but found it was already unlocked. A quick look told her that the lock on the doorknob was also open. Before he brain could make the connection and react the door flew open, knocking her to the floor. She fixed a furious glare at the unwelcome visitor while pushing herself of the grungy carpet. "Hey what hell is your problem?" Her words came out icy, but once she was at her full height and realized that it didn't measure up to the young woman standing in the doorway, she regretted her outburst. 

The other girl, whose dark hair was pulled back into a lazy pony tail marched into the room, past Darien, and slammed the door shut. "Okay, what are doing in my room?" She placed her hands on her hips and fixed Darien with a withering look.

Darien swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. _Oh, crap. _She avoided the dark eyes while taking a couple of steps back. "I… don't know what you're talking about," she said, though she knew that the other girl could see right through her. 

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes, pushed roughly past Darien, grabbing a couple articles of clothing that were sitting in a pile on the dresser. "I think you do, kid. See his," she hefted the bag, "it's mine. So is this, this and this, "she went around collecting various objects and waving them in Darien's face. "Hmm… let's see, what else? Oh yea," she gestured wildly around the room and stared hard at the shorter girl, "and the _room_. Or maybe you didn't notice that it's full of someone else's stuff. I don't what you're doing in here, or how you get in, but you better get yourself out. Fast." 

By the time she had finished her rant Darien's eyes were wide with fear, although she wore a resolved expression. She grabbed a key ring off the nearby dresser and held it up to show the other. "According to these, this room is mine."

"Well the fact that it's filled with my things and decorated much better than a motel room should be should have clued you in that it's taken. Where'd you get those keys anyway?"

"Uh…" Darien paused. Okay, so she was in a tight spot. Lacking the money to actually rent the room, she'd stolen the keys for the one she's stayed the night in. True, it had been full of someone else's possessions, but since the keys had been available, she figured the room was just abandoned, and hadn't been cleaned out yet. Hey, it was a bonus for her. She needed everything she could get. She searched her brain for a reply of any kind, but the silence had lasted to long for her to create any believable story. So she just stared at the ground defiantly and played with the little key ring in her hands. 

The elapsed silence explained everything to the dark haired girl, and she shrugged, though the other girl wasn't looking. Strangely, she felt her anger drain away. "Hey, no problem. I understand. Hell, I'm almost proud of you, kid. Though I really wish you hadn't used all my clean towels"

Darien glanced guiltily at the soggy towels that lay beside the bed, near bathroom. "Sorry about that. And I'm seventeen, y'know." She paused, not really sure what to say, so she held her had out . "My name's Darien Ros- uh, Darien." She decided last minute against giving out her full name, just in case. 

The other girl shook her hand firmly and offered a quick smile. "Faith." 

The two girls stood in awkward silence for a few moments before Darien went to collect her backpack. "Well, I guess I outta be going then. Here, you should take this set of keys too."

Faith nodded, "Yea, I guess…" she trailed off, watching the younger girl grab her coat and shoulder the pack, before pulling the door open. It was obvious that she didn't have much, considering she had stolen keys to a room in the cheapest motel in Sunnydale. Not mention all she carried was the backpack on her shoulder. For some reason, against her character, she felt sorry for the kid and wanted to help her out a bit. _Must be from hanging out with Buffy for so long_, she decided. "Uh, look, if you need a place to stay tonight or somethin', you could stay here. I'm guessing you're pretty low on cash and all…" 

Darien paused in the middle of pulling the other strap to her pack into her shoulder and looked up at Faith. She considered the offer; it would be nice to have a place to stay that night. She really didn't have anywhere else to go so far, and would need a somewhere if she lost her nerve and didn't actually go to her family. _Or they turn me away at the doorstep. _Something inside of her truly believed that that was going to happen, even against all logic. They were family after all, it didn't matter what had happened. 

She smiled at Faith and said, "Y'know I think I'll take you up on that." She figured even if she did track them down, and they did want her back, she'd come and stay with this Faith. It seemed like the other girl needed the company. Besides she looked quite strong, and it wouldn't hurt to have someone who'd be able to give her some protection on her side. 

Smiling back, Faith gestured to the floor, "You'll have to sleep there though. I'll get some extra blankets and pillows later on." She paused, studying Darien for a moment. She looked oddly familiar, with her bright red hair, that was cut and layered at her shoulders, and the cheerfully innocent personality she radiated. The latter was almost sickening to her actually. That sort of damned naivety is what gets people killed. But on the other hand there was something in the kid's bright green eyes that Faith couldn't read and that, mixed with the fierce determination, might have been what compelled her to extend another offer."Hey, I don't know if you have anywhere to be today, but maybe we could go get some breakfast, and I'll give you a tour of the town before I have to go to work." 

"Sure!" Faith had to grin at the sudden enthusiasm in the redhead. "Just let me get changed and freshen up a bit," Darien said and headed into the bathroom at Faith's nod. Faith took the opportunity to flop down onto the bed and relax for a few minutes. It had been a late night out on patrol, and rather than make the trek across town Buffy had offered the floor of her and Willow's dorm for the rest of night. Being a Friday night the three had vouched for movies, popcorn, and a few entertaining magic tricks donated by Willow. After hours of corny horror movies, cheesy Kung-Fu flicks (which Faith and Buffy had picked to pieces), and many burns on the carpet they'd caught a small amount of sleep before the Slayers had to be at the Magic Shop for training. They had been lucky that it was more reading and learning than putting anything into practice; at least that way they could snooze while Giles was away helping a customer. When that was all said and done Buffy had headed back to the dorms (probably to go back to bed) and Faith and made her way home. It'd been a fun night. It was a treat for them to just kick back and hang out like that. Between the three there was too much Slaying, training, schoolwork, and jobs to really have time to have a good time. Well, for Faith there was less schoolwork and more work work. Unable to afford University just yet, she was working her butt off to be able to pay for tuition next year so she'd only be a year behind the rest of the gang. It was tough, but she was definitely a lot happier than she'd been a year ago. Even in her dingy little motel room, which she had actually grown quite fond of, life was good. 

Maybe that was why she was drawn to helping the girl she'd found in her home. She reminded Faith a lot of when she had first arrived in Sunnydale. _Well, _she thought, _minus the skanky evil Slayer attitude, of course. _But the kid was alone and seemed pretty lost as far as she could tell, and Faith remembered hating that feeling, so why not try to alleviate it from someone else? Besides, maybe she could train up a new slaying assistant. The more the merrier, right?


	4. And this is Sunnydale, in all it's Hellm...

Yay! Update! Not that anyone's really been reading so far, but I figure people don't like to read just little bits of stories, so adding on is good. ^.^ Another chapter should be up soon. 

Chapter 2

It was a good breakfast, it really was. They'd gone to a nice little café style diner that sat snugly at the edge of town, next to a decrepit looking bookshop on the corner of a mostly unused side street. Though there seemed to be a lack of inhabitants in the area the little restaurant received its fair share of business. The two had been lucky enough to just beat the Saturday morning rush and were given a table out on the patio in the warm spring sunshine. 

The food itself was quite tasty, but little of it actually reached Darien's mouth; she sat pushing around her scrambled eggs with her fork in a bit while staring off into space. 

"You got a grudge against those eggs or somethin', kid?"

Faith, on the other hand, had no problem devouring her own meal in no time and was sipping on a glass of orange juice while looking over the rim with raised eyebrows. 

"Huh?" Darien blinked and looked up at Faith.

"You've been pushing your food around for the last five minutes," Faith said. "Any time now and you'll have egg soup."

Flushing slightly, Darien apologized and pushed her plate away. "I don't really have much of an appetite anymore."

The dark haired girl nodded and cocked her head to look at Darien, "So it seems. Well, kid, you wanna tell me the reason you're wasting my money?" Faith added a grin and wink to that statement, so the other girl would see she was joking. The waiter came to collect their dishes and set down the white slip that was the bill. 

"I'm not a kid," Darien said distractedly, watching the waiter wind his was through tables to get back into the restaurant. "And I don't really want to talk about it," she spared a glance at Faith, who was pulling out her wallet and added, "uh, sorry. It was great, really."

"Don't worry about it," Faith reassured. There was a moment off awkward silence before she spoke up again. "Hey lets get in some of the sights, and you can fill me in on who you are and what you're doing here, specifically in my bed." She winked and pushed her chair back, "You owe me that at least, don'cha think?" Holding up a hand to stifle any protest from the younger girl, Faith stood and grabbed her jacket of the back of her chair, motioning for Darien to do the same. "C'mon."

Ten minutes later saw the two strolling leisurely down the deserted street with Faith pointing out various landmarks. It was a pleasantly warm day, complete with a slight breeze and a bright blue sky that was scattered with a few fluffy white clouds. Both girls had they're coats hanging over their arms and bottle of cold soda in their hands, compliments of Darien, to help make up for breakfast. 

"New York, huh? Not bad, kid."

Darien rolled her eyes, hiding a trace of a smile. "I'm not a kid," she said for what must have been the twentieth time that morning. It had become more a of a joke between the two, rather than an insult as she had seen it as earlier. 

Her companion just grinned and pointed out another Sunnydale place of importance, which Darien really didn't care about, but listened attentively to the reason behind the landmark anyway. She'd been growing more and more anxious as the morning went on and it showed through on her features. Faith noticed the girl's pensive mood and changed the subject, hoping to Darien distracted from whatever was eating at her, maybe even find out what it was. 

"So how come you left New York. And why on Earth did you come all the way across the country to _Sunnydale_?" 

With a shrug Darien kicked a stone across the road. "The guy I was staying with had to leave. He sorta took care of me."

"Just up and left?" Darien nodded sadly. "I'll have to meet this guy sometime, then thoroughly kick his ass for you." 

The redhead chuckled at this. "I doubt it, but it's the though that counts anyway. It wasn't all that bad, he was a pretty cool guy. One of them bad ass types. Really not the kinda person you'd expect to be looking after a teenager, so I gotta give him credit." She smiled, though it was obvious she was upset about the guy's sudden departure. "Anyway, I was having a bit of trouble with money-"

"Like what?"

"I didn't have any."

"Gotcha."

"-and I have some family down here, so it seemed like the best bet."

Faith nodded, "makes sense." They were only about a half a block from the Magic Box, so she decided maybe she'd take the kid in to meet the gang. _Well, whoever's up by now_, she thought. Giles, being his old British self would most definitely still be there, even though the shop wasn't actually open yet. That meant Willow would be there as well, using the quiet time to research something or other, or learn a new spell. Faith really couldn't understand why, or how, the witch could learn on a weekend, voluntarily. It blew her mind. So then, if Willow was there, then chances were Tara was also there. The two were practically inseparable when it came to the magicy mojo. The others could be counted out. Xander called it a sin to be awake before noon on a Saturday, and swore to himself that that was a sin he would never be guilty of. Of course Anya faithfully followed his code. Faith suppressed a snicker. She didn't really know who was more whipped, the ex-demon or the carpenter. And Oz, well it had been wolf night for him so he would probably be catching up on some much needed sleep. 

As they walked past the window, Faith peeked in and found she was correct: Giles was pulling unpacking some new product, that Faith decided she would have to her hands on some of, and Willow and Tara were sitting at the table huddled over a massive volume that looked to be more ancient than Faith like her books. Buffy was also there, which Faith hadn't expected, assuming that the other Slayer had gone back to the dorms to sleep. 

Pulling open the door, hearing the familiar jingle of the bells Faith asked, "So who're your folks anyway? I might know 'em. Actually chances are I do, y'know small town and all. Anyway, I could point in there direction…" She trailed off, seeing that Darien wasn't listening or following her into the store. She let the door close again and walked back to where the redhead was staring into the window. Darien looked like she was in a state of shock: her eyes were wide and all the colour had drained from her face. She was looking fearfully at the back of another head of red hair… then it finally clicked. Faith had noticed the similarities, but it hadn't really connected until now. "Hey, kid, snap out of it. That is who you're looking for right? See the job's half done for you."

"No, I'm not." Darien turned her afraid green eyes on Faith, and backed away from, away from the window. She misjudged where the edge of the sidewalk was and stumbled a few feet before catching herself, then continued to move away. She was muttering breathy 'I'm not ready's and 'I can't's and Faith followed her worriedly.

"Kid, hey Darien, calm down will ya? Generally people are happy to see long lost family members, right? What's gotten into you?" Faith reached out and grabbed Darien's arm in time to prevent her from hitting the wall of the building next to the Magic Box. 

The younger girl looked up her and her eyes flooded, "Please don't make me go in there."

"What?" Faith was pretty concerned now and completely lost by Darien's behaviour. "'Kay, kid, what the heck is going on? What happened to you?"


End file.
